Waste is a massive problem in the UK and, with the construction industry contributing as much as a third of waste output, serious action needs to be taken to meet government targets to reduce the amount of waste going to landfill.

Kingspan Insulation has been at the forefront in developing ways of dealing with both manufacturing and site insulation waste, and its award winning Waste Take Back Scheme has been cited as an example of good practice in a new action plan produced by the Building Insulation Foam Resource Efficiency Partnership (BIFREP).

There is a concern that the current emphasis on home insulation and energy saving could actually increase the amount of insulation waste created to over 30,000 tonnes per year by 2020.

Kingspan Insulation welcomes the Building Insulation Foam Resource Efficiency Action Plan (BIFREAP), which aims to increase awareness of the issues surrounding insulation usage, and to expand knowledge within the industry of how best to manage resources and reduce waste.

The plan is the result of extensive collaboration between industry stakeholders, and has been supported by WRAP and the BRE Trust. The recommendations and targets are realistic and practical, representing a significant step forward for the industry in finding ways to deal with the issue.

Five key areas for improvement were identified:

1. Designing out waste2. Site practices to reduce waste3. Segregation of waste for recycling and recovery4. Improving the logistics of recovery5. Raising awareness of resource efficiency opportunities

Kingspan insulation’s Waste Take Back Scheme is used in the report as an example of how to successfully meet some of these criteria. A copy of the BIFREAP can be downloaded from: www.wrap.org.uk/sites/files/wrap/BIF.pdf